Siena

To escape the warm confines of Marge, late yesterday evening, we took a walk out across the car park. On turning round to come back, we were greeted by a spectacular view. The church situated behind our van, was lit by soft orange and yellowing white light.

The dark sky behind, like a black canvas, allowing the building to shine in all its glory. To the left, the bright light of the crescent moon, equally striking.

A beautiful start to Sunday morning. At eight o' clock, the vans were already coming down from the narrow streets of the town above, with luggage to be loaded onto the waiting coaches. By nine o' clock, the coach park was full. We were kept entertained by the incoming visitors. One coach had quite a few nuns on board, and we were amused by one of them, whose habit was topped off, by a bright orange baseball cap! One of the other coaches, turned out a party of children. One of the adult supervisors with them was a little on the large size. We noticed she wasn't asked to carry the bag containing the packed lunches!

On leaving Assisi, we stopped in a lay-by to photograph the cathedral. We could see all the lighting rigs that had been set up, for a charity concert, that will be broadcast from here on Monday.

A calm easy drive today, crossing from Umbria back to Tuscany, a land of pretty farmhouses, and acres of greenery. We were pleased to be back in this lovely area. By lunchtime we had reached Siena.

Just after we'd finished our lunch, a German couple in their seventies, pulled in with a very long motorhome. Enquiring if we would be staying the night, they decided to stay as well. They seemed nice, unlike 'Herr Unlucky' who was next to us in Vieste. We think of him from time to time, and wonder who he's entertaining in his underwear now!

It took fifteen minutes to walk up hill to the medieval city. The temperature in the shade 34c. The heat had caused both us to suffer from swollen ankles this morning, so we hoped a good long walk would help sort out the problem. Siena is a city with the 'wow' factor.

The impressive Piazza del Campo, on the site of an old roman forum, is looked over by the equally impressive Palazzo Publicco and Torre del Mangia, which stands eighty eight metres high.

An added bonus in the piazza was a display of Ferraris, courtesy of a local enthusiasts club. In the skies above the piazza, hundreds of swifts flew busily through the air.

As we trod the streets of Siena we marvelled at the architecture. It was nice to be back amongst culture.

Our ultimate quest was to find the Duomo di Siena. When we first caught a glimpse of it, we knew we were about to see something very special. It is a cathedral with presence. It's columns and block-work were marble, including some of the famous Tuscan red marble. The intricate carving was both detailed and fascinating. This marvellous building is up there in the top five best places we've seen in Italy. We sat for a while in the shade of the building, but the sunlight was so bright, Angela resorted to putting her beanie hat on, which always results in John calling her 'Helmet Schultz'? (after Sergeant Schultz from the 60's WW2 comedy 'Hogan's Heroes, Google for more info). After three hours of walking around, we returned to Marge for a shower and a cool down. Our ankles looked a little better from the exercise. Whilst we were cooking our evening meal our German neighbours returned. And guess what, he dropped his trousers! Honestly. It must be a German thing! They are a really nice couple who have motorhomed to every country in Europe except Russia and the Ukraine. On the side of their van is a beautiful hand painted view of an oasis painted by a Moroccan whilst travelling in that country.

Finally a photo of a visitor who drop through the skylight into our bathroom, a Rhinoceros Beetle, luckily only around an inch and a half long, they can grow quite large!